June 28, 2007
Trader Joe's Coming To Brooklyn, For Real This Time
Earlier this year, The Sun reported that AvalonBay Communities would "begin construction this summer on a 42-story, residential market-rate tower with approximately 600 units. The property will have ground floor retail, which could house the borough's first Trader Joe's market." And even earlier this year it was suspected that TJ's would move into One Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Today, The Brooklyn Eagle is reporting that Trader Joe's will soon be stocking the fridges of many Brooklynites as the store will be moving into the (Two Trees-owned) former Independence Savings Bank building, at the corner of Court Street and Atlantic Avenue (sorry Urban Outfitters fans).
While there's been no official announcement yet, it looks like this time it's really going to happen - a good thing for Brooklynites who have been suffering from TJ's envy. The store will be placed "at the juncture of three affluent brownstone neighborhoods: Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill," and while the Eagle refers to it as "an upscale supermarket," it's usually quite affordable (especially compared to Whole Foods).
The bank building was originally going to be converted to condos, with an apartment building built in the parking lot linked to the bank! The Eagle mentions that "for a variety of reasons, a decision by the Landmarks Preservation Commission made it impossible for that link to be created." However, the new building in the lot will still be built...so looks like parking will be an issue, for those with a car.
|
that's good since the one in Union Sq is retarded crazy busy filled with retarded crazy people who get in fist fights waiting in line.
not. worth. it.
YAY!!!!
At least this is the case of a former bank building being turned into something useful instead of something useless like say the three trillionth bank in the city.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Great! More traffic by Atlantic and Court Street! I can't wait to see all the double-parking.
this is awful - it will hurt all of the mom & pop businesses and bodegas
oops, this isn'a a WalMart, never mind...
I hope they do something about the lines as the NY Times and commenter 1 mentions. I've been in the U.S. TJ's about three times, and each time I've purchased nothing, because the line was just ridiconkulus. It brings to me the verge of a panic attack and makes me want to go postal in there.
30 minutes to buy a bag of trail mix. Nuh-uh. What is this, Great Adventure?
I don't get the big deal with Trader Joe's. I tried the one in Union Square after visiting TJ's in some other parts of the country and the USq store is way inferior.
Plus it's so crowded that you can't move, let alone shop, and the minimal savings isn't worth the aggravation.
Unlike Wal-Mart, Trader Joes offers a most of their employees crazy things like health insurance. Whoa.
Don't you mean WHOLE PAYCHECK FOODS...
this is great for the neighborhood. when i lived in boerum hill the grocery store options were not so great. better than an urban outfitters with cheaply made goods any day of the week! also, i don't see how this location is going to have any trouble drawing local customers w/o building a parking lot.
Screw TJ's. The Organic Bodega just a few blocks East of there will continue to be my primary grocery.
Sup Govinda's Market, reprezent.
The lines do get pretty bad, but it's totally worth it. Stuff at TJ's is so much cheaper than every other grocery store in the city. Also, if you go before 5 or after 9, the lines are short.
"Oganic Bodega" is an oxymoron, and Govinda's market sucks.
Excellent.
It is upscale because of the kinds of foods offered. Not everyone eats organic, all natural and things like lemon curd and gyoza.
Unlike Wal-Mart, Trader Joes offers a most of their employees crazy things like health insurance. Whoa.
Not to defend Wal-mart but their average wages are better than the average for retail employees nationwide. And they offer health insurance to a higher percentage of their employees than the retail industry as a whole and higher than Target. If you seriously want to improve people's lives then target the entire retail industry, don't just single out Wal-mart. It just makes you look stupid and uninformed.
Rocknrope: That line moves quickly. For absolutely no line go right when they open or at 9, an hour before close. I never wait in line then, unless it is a weekend. But that line moves quickly, even when it is to the back of the store. A fact of life in a city this big is the possibility of lines. It is not that bad.
I'll believe it when I see it.
Egan, out.
http://eganfoote.wordpress.com
the u.sq. line is no big deal if you strategize. shop the interior aisles, then hop in line and grab things from the perimeter as you go by. unless you're chronically indecisive it works well.
Teamwork helps, too. You hit a few interior aisles (making sure not to forget the Thai chile-lime peanuts!), have your buddy get in line while you hit the outer aisles until you meet up and leisurely grab things along the perimeter as you inch through the line. TJ's is def. worth it if you want to stock up on a bunch fun pantry items at competitive prices--not as good if you just want to run in for the peanuts.
*this is awful - it will hurt all of the mom & pop businesses and bodegas*
right and mom and pop businesses aren't a rip off—most of them are rude douche bags with the exeption of a very few. TJ's buys in extreme bulk, that's why everything is so damn cheap...
as for organic foods, organic doesn't mean it's organic. the fda barley has rules on what constitutes as organic—keep emptying your wallet on those organic eggs and veggies, cuz honestly, you're wasting your money.
dude, #6 was a spoof
once again Queens gets the shaft! IKEA, Trader Joe's...what next? It'll still be easier to go New Jersy for Ikea and to Union Square for TJ's for those of us who live in Queens.
Dear edEx,
a lot of certified organic food gets its certification via third party using international standards (which have more control than our comparatively lax USDA Organic standard) see: Quality Assurance International. Just because you read an article about Republicans voting to lessen the guidelines, or WalMart switching out produce on its customers does not mean that "organic food is not organic." As far as eggs and veggies, you gotta know where your shit comes from. Something like Organic Valley, which is a coalition of independantly certefied organic farms certainly does have REAL ORGANIC food. Furthermore, it is not a waste of money to choose to support sustainable farming over huge ass, government subsidised, agro-industrial production. But. You know. Sorry if you think it's a rip off. I think you're just looking for an excuse to be cheap.
whats with these people posting completely useless comments and then linking to a blog? "Egan".. im looking at you...
..you too Havens of Manhattan.
Can't wait for TJ to be in the neighborhood.
We've been stopping at the E.Houston WF on our way home from work. BTW, we've found the WF comparable in price to the wayy crappy Met and and I've found prices at Govinda's Market and some of the other produce stands to be higher than the WF prices.
#23: Queens is getting a Trader Joe's, in Rego Park I believe. Last I read, it's opening in late summer/early fall. It'll be open well before the one in Brooklyn.
Trader Joe's is a very good store. Yay Brooklyn!
This neighborhood suffers from a lack of decent grocery stores. Sure, we have a few decent produce markets like Pacific Green, but the Mets and the Key Foods around here are beyond horrible. I rely on Fresh Direct for 90% of my groceries now, and I supplement that with runs to Sahadi's, Pacific Green, etc. But I think a supermarket with more choices, especially if it's actually clean and reasonably priced, will do well in the neighborhood.
Atleast this is on a walking route, we can bring our carts.
Whole Foods on the other hand will require a car to get to--though they promis delivery.
But why are they putting a bank in the new building across the street and taking the bank out of the bank building?
"TJ's buys in extreme bulk, that's why everything is so damn cheap..."
You're thinking of CostCo. TJ's sells their own brand.